1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a remote controller for remotely operating electronic equipments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Remote controllers which use infrared and electromagnetic waves to transmit modulated control data to remotely control electronic equipments such as, for example, televisions, stereos, and VTRs (Video Tape Recorders) are well known.
For example, as is shown in FIG. 4, an infrared remote controller is well known which has a light transmitter 1 consisting of an infrared light transmitting element and an infrared transmission filter at its front end, and a number of operating keys 2 on its upper surface. Each of the operating keys 2 will then operate an electrical appliance so that, for example, the key PW could turn the electric supply on and off, and the keys numbered [1] to [12] could then represent television channels.
When a signal which is attained by modulating a fixed frequency carrier and is then transmitted as infrared the pulse bit periods, frame structures and coding systems are different depending on the format adopted, and there are a lot of cases where these formats vary with the maker, model or year in which the electrical appliance was made. As the remote controller has to be exclusively prepared in accordance with each various electrical appliance, the user has to set up the remote controller so that it can be used with the electrical appliance which it is desired to use.
In response to this situation remote controllers have been put forward which can output control signals having different formats and code systems for various maker and models of electronic equipment.
With this kind of remote controller, as shown in a table of FIG. 5, the control signal groups for the electronic equipment corresponding to each of the makers (A corporation--I corporation) are pre-stored in, for example, a ROM. When a corporation such as B corporation then has two kinds of control signal groups having differing formats and/or code systems (code CB1 and code CB2) these are then pre-stored separately.
Each control signal group is then allotted to a numbered key and the user can then call up the desired control signal group by the select set up operation. For example, if key number [1] and the PW key are pressed together, the control signal group with the format and code system adopted by A corporation will be selected, and when the operation keys 2 of the remote controller are subsequently pressed, the control signals for A corporations electronic equipment will be outputted.
It is common knowledge that a controller with the functions described above commonly known as a preset remote controller is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,511.
Also, in another kind of remote controller which is also well known, a number of remote control signals which are stored in the memory are read out from the memory and transmitted one after another by operating one of the operating buttons so that it can then be decided which of these remote control signals is suitable to be used with the apparatus. When a suitable remote control signal is selected that selection is then stored in a memory.
This kind of function, which is commonly known as a search preset function, is disclosed forward in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,359.
In this way, if remote control signals corresponding to a number of formats, a number of makers and a number of categories are pre-stored in the memory, by operating a prescribed operating key, the remote control signals stored in the memory can be read out and transmitted one after another from the memory, and a remote control signal which can be confirmed to be capable of operating the apparatus to be controlled can be found.
With the preset remote controller described above, each type of control signal group is preset into the unit. This means that, for example, by setting up appliance modes by using a select set up operation which employs the numbered keys, the number of control signal groups which can be preset is limited to the number of operating keys 2 (i.e. the number of numbered keys) present.
Also, if there are a very large number of kinds of control signal groups then, for example, if just twelve presets are assigned to certain control signal groups then there will still be groups which cannot be preset, and the remote controller will therefore not be able to operate the electronic equipment corresponding to these leftover groups.
When presetting using numbered keys for a large number of types of control signal groups, it is possible to store the control signal groups by using two or more numbered keys corresponding to each control signal group, as shown in the example in FIG. 6. In this case, if, for example, the user holds down the key PW and then presses key [1] and key [2], the control signal group CA2 having the code system and format for A corporation will be selected.
By doing this it will be possible to store almost any number of types of control signal formats and codes, although this will of course depend on the amount of memory space available in the ROM.
This does however present the problem that the select setting operation is very complicated. Also, the user may understand the name of the maker of the electronic equipment being used but is unlikely to have an understanding that goes as far as knowing the control signal format and control system.
Also, the user will not know which of three codes such as the three codes CB1-CB3 shown in FIG. 6 for the products of B corporation should be selected, and so will therefore have to repeat the complicated select setting procedure until the correct control signal for operating that product has been output.
If the user cannot manage to transmit the desired control signal format and code, then the search preset function described previously can still be used as the remote control signal preset method. However, with remote controllers which have a search preset function, for the case where a remote control signal is to be read out from memory, when the user operates the operating key the remote control signals including the formats and control systems for the various makers may not correlate with those for conventional systems. It would therefore be best if the desired remote control signal were to be read out near the beginning of the sequence from which the remote control signals are read out from the memory, but this would probably not be the case. It would probably then be necessary to have to continue to press the operating button until the correct remote control signal is read out from the memory.
Storing a large number of types of control signal groups randomly as presets would therefore be would be detrimental to the operativity of the device.